Compton artist depicts black history with shadow box exhibit

They are tiny in size, but each one of Karen Collins' miniature clay figures captures an enormous moment in African-American history.

There's the Elmina Castle in Ghana, where seized men and women awaited a life of slavery in America.

There's the little bus that symbolizes the boycott that shook the civil rights movement, angering the Klu Klux Klan.

And there's the diminutive wooden desk where Nora Zeale Hurston wrote her stories and plays, to become one of the most important writers of the Harlem Renaissance.

From ancient times to segregation, equal rights to President Barack Obama's inauguration, the scenes depicted inside Collins' handmade shadow boxes display the black experience through tragedy and heart ache, as well as triumphs and joy.

"You have to be able to tell a story through a presentation," said Collins, a former pre-school teacher and an award winning artist based in Compton. "When people see them, they become very reflective, and very curious," she said.

Collins has created more than 50 shadow boxes over the past 15 years, an idea born out of her own sadness when her son got in trouble with the law.

Her husband builds the wooden boxes, while she goes to work recreating key moments from history, keeping in mind that that the teeniest details count, from the lace collars on Victorian dresses to itsy bitsy buttons on Thurgood Marshall's suit jacket.

The shadow boxes are part of Collins' traveling African-American Miniature Museum.

On Sunday, Collins brought her work to the Juan Bautista de Anza Park Community Center, in Calabasas, as part of a special presentation sponsored by the San Fernando Valley Chapter of Jack and Jill of America Inc. The non-profit organization was founded in 1938 by a group of mothers who wanted to give their children social, cultural and educational opportunities.

Rosalind Nationscq brought her 5-year-old daughter Summer to the event and paused by the Madam C.J. Walker shadow box. Walker is became the first female self-made millionaire in America in the early 1900 s by developing and marketing beauty and hair products for black women.

"I really like that it captures so much of history and shows different periods," Nations said of the shadow boxes.

"It's very detailed."

Teens with Jack and Jill said the shadow boxes that depicted slavery captured their attention most, because it was a reminder to them not to take their opportunities for granted.

"It tells the story of our heritage and shows that success didn't happen overnight," said Bruce Pierce, 16, of Agoura Hills.

"It's about the difficulties people faced, but also shows how people moved forward."

Both Deja Webster, 16, of Westlake Village and Brandy Dijette, 17, of Calabasas said they were most touched by the shadow box that showed the various stereotypes of African-Americans.

"Sometimes we forget we had those stereotypes," Deja said.

Sometimes, people can't see beyond them, Brandy added.

"People may only recognize Muhammad Ali or Michael Jackson, and not Zora Neale Hurston, or C.J. Walker," she said.

Collins, 62, was also named one of Southern California's Freedom's Sisters for her community outreach.

Her goal behind making the shadow boxes is to inspire.

"No matter where you are in life, you can do better," Collins said. "You can achieve what you want."

The African-American Miniature Museum will next be displayed this Tuesday through Thursday at Los Angeles Southwest College, 1600 W. Imperial Hwy, West Athens.